Officials: More air traffic controllers needed

Jace Radke

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

Las Vegas air traffic controller Karl Keller finds himself working 10-hour days, six days a week to guide airplanes flying in and out of McCarran International Airport.

With nearly half the nation's controllers set to reach retirement eligibility over the next five years, and a work force that is already undermanned, Keller doesn't expect to return to his normal 40-hour work week anytime soon.

"We need the funding to add more controllers," said Keller, who works in the Las Vegas Terminal Radar Approach watching planes in the airspace extending 40 miles around Las Vegas. "It's a job that needs full attention, and if you have less people watching more air space you have a problem.

"You get tired, and other than drinking a lot of coffee I don't know what you can do."

Representatives of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association were in Las Vegas Monday to publicize the need for additional federal funds to hire needed controllers nationwide. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee authorizing funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, has asked that $14 million be given to the FAA to begin hiring additional controllers.

That amount may not come close to meeting the expected need.

Mark Sherry, who represents air traffic controllers in the Western United States, said that the $14 million would be enough to hire about 200 controllers. Nationwide there are about 15,000 controllers, but about 7,000 of those workers will be eligible for retirement in the next five years.

"It will cost about $40 (million) to $60 million a year to hire the 1,000 controllers we're going to need every year," Sherry said. "If we don't get the funding we're going to start seeing delays.

"In order to maintain safety you'll start seeing delays not because of weather, but because there won't be enough controllers available. Planes will have to wait."

Sherry said that nationwide there is a need for more controllers at many air traffic centers.

McCarran is authorized to have 47 controllers, but only has 42, while North Las Vegas Airport is authorized to have 15 controllers and has 15, FAA officials said.

Las Vegas Terminal Radar Approach, which takes over control of aircraft from McCarran and North Las Vegas after the planes take off, is authorized to have 56 controllers but has only 42.

Sherry said that the shortage is actually greater than the numbers show, because six of the controllers at McCarran are now eligible to retire.

FAA spokesman Don Walker said that five additional controllers are in training for Las Vegas Terminal Radar Approach, and that three others have chosen to transfer to the center, and that two controllers are transferring to McCarran.

The FAA is working on an action plan to prepare for the pending wave of controller retirements that will look at the hiring needs of air traffic control centers and airports across the country.

"The plan will result in the FAA having the right number of controllers at the right place at the right time," Walker said. "The FAA will continue to ensure the safety of travelers and the air space."

Even if funding is approved for new controllers there will be a time gap of at least two years before they complete their training and begin working as controllers. Before controllers can work at larger airports such as McCarran, they normally have to put in about five years at smaller airports, Sherry said.

Jim Dever, a facility representative for the North Las Vegas tower, said that there may be no choice but to slow down air travel if more controllers aren't hired.

"We may have to compromise efficiency, but public safety is something we will never compromise," Dever said.